Posted
by
timothy
on Sunday June 12, 2005 @08:24PM
from the yeah-but-how-do-they-taste dept.

Makarand writes "A date palm seed found during archaeological excavations at King Herod's palace on Mount Masada, near the Dead Sea, and whose age was confirmed to be 2000 years by carbon dating techniques
has sprouted
into a young tree.This historic seedling which sprouted 4 weeks after planting has grown six leaves and
one has been removed for DNA tests.
Scientists hope that the unique seedling will eventually yield vital clues to the medicinal properties of the fruit of the Judean date tree chronicled in the Bible and the Quran and which was long thought to be extinct."

I dunno...we seem to have enough trouble with plants that are current species but that get introduced into new environments. A good example is the giant hogweed [invasivespecies.gov] (Heracleum mantegazzianum), which was brought from the Caucasus in Russia into Europe and now infests portions of the U.S., and is pretty nasty stuff. (It was immortalized in a Genesis song from their progressive-rock days, "The Return of the Giant Hogweed." [lyricsfreak.com])

That sort of thing can happen in under a year. This stuff grows fast and it was imported from Asia because of that for use in erosion control. It turned out to absolutely love the climate down here and it exploded out of control.

It actually is not that bad of a plant. It isn't poisonous and doesn't cause allergic reactions nor does it have thorns. You can make tea out of t

"It's a Truffula Seed.It's the last one of all!You're in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds.And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs.Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care.Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air.Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack.Then the Lorax and all of his friends may come back."-Dr Seuss

hmm, x86 apple. last of the star wars prequels, boston winning, now a dead seed from the desert returns. Well, at least we won't have to deal with another season of American Idol. I for one welcome our new date masters.

Scientists found that the 2000 year old date tree had an enzyme that causes HIV to mutate and become airborne with a 72 hour, open-air survival. Humanity soon to be wiped out because of digging up ancient plants and reviving old things that probably should be left buried in history. THE END IS NEAR!!!... put the card board sign away sir and back away from the message thread...